Correspondents write:
THE Revd Raymond Reynolds had an intellect possessed by few. He averaged 98 per cent in his School Certificate across all subjects, and would have had a distinguished university record, had he not needed to bring in a wage after the early death of his father, John, from tuberculosis in 1943.
Ray started work as a tea boy for an insurance company in Leeds. He worked his way up, taking exams; but he soon felt a calling to join the Church Army and so moved to London. As Captain Reynolds, he went on missions up and down the country; it was on one of these in Liverpool that he met Sylvia Lowe, who was to become his wife. Another calling came, to be a priest, and, after meeting the bishop, he studied at Chichester Theological College.
At Chichester, he found himself slightly daunted among Oxbridge graduates; but he excelled in New Testament Greek, and learnt well in a year.
Ray served his title at St Margaret of Antioch, in Headingley. This was High Church, which suited his interest in the Oxford Movement. He and Sylvia had married on New Year’s Eve 1960, and their eldest son, Martin, was born while they were at Headingley.
From here, the family moved to Beeston, Nottingham, before Ray became Rector of Farnley, in 1964. He is remembered at Farnley for his love of music. He had a fine tenor voice and would often sing harmonies in the hymns. He dabbled in composition, and wrote a setting of the Lord’s Prayer for his choir. He loved playing the piano, particularly simple pieces by Bach, as well as hymns.
In 1976, Ray and family moved to Leicestershire for three country parishes: Fenny Drayton (the birthplace of George Fox), Higham-on-the-Hill (birthplace of Geoffrey Fisher), and Witherley (which has connections with Siegfried Sassoon)
It was during this period that he felt he should gain some university-type qualifications; so he registered for a Lambeth diploma. His thesis was on the character and role of the country priest in English history.
Having enjoyed this taste of writing, he registered for an M.Phil. in theology at Nottingham University, producing a thesis on the sociology of religion. He was particularly interested in Max Weber and the Protestant work ethic that the more successful you were in business, the more you were blessed by God. This, of course, made the wealthy the most blessed and the poor the least; Ray would have profoundly disagreed with this sentiment.
His supervisor, Professor Douglas Davies, remembers “our discussions on the interplay of sociological and theological ideas in relation to society. That was at a time when the interplay of those disciplines was not very common. I was impressed by his dedication to the pursuit of thoughts that really motivated him.”
Ray’s next port of call was Sutton, in Cambridgeshire, where he served from 1990 to 1994, at which point he responded to an advert in the Church Times from a friend from his Leeds days, Canon Richard Price, for an assistant curate in Nantwich. He held the post for two years, before retiring.
Colleagues speak of Ray’s caring, conscientious, and faithful ministry. He was content to be a parish priest, and kept his theology up to date.
He had a fantastic sense of humour and a warm personality. He was generous, kind-hearted, and reliable, a friend to be treasured.
Ray had also been a fine snooker player, although he felt billiards to be the better game. He played an exhibition match with Ray Reardon, and took a frame in a best of three. He also played a former world champion, Joe Johnson, when he was in his amateur career.
Ray had stamina, and faced old age with courage. He died on 1 October, aged 95, at Elmhurst Intermediate Care Home, Winsford. He leaves his wife, Sylvia, and their sons, Martin, David, and Simon.